The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the Treasury Department body with authority over sales of critical U.S.-owned assets, has declined to confirm these reports so far. But Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang America, praised the news in statements, saying his company was looking forward "closing the transaction and to continuing to foster the technologies A123 has worked so hard to develop.”

CFUS’ decision to not challenge Wanxiang’s buyout comes after months of controversy, with opponents of the sale saying the deal could lead to critical technology with national security applications being turned over to a foreign government.

U.S.-based Johnson Controls, which lost its A123 takeover bid to Wanxiang, had filed an appeal to the sale in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, amidst courtroom accusations from creditor attorneys that it and other U.S. corporate interests are lobbying in Congress to stop Wanxiang’s bid.

A123 has already been under investigation by Congress over its $249.1 million in DOE grants, of which about $130 million has been drawn, mainly to build and run its factories in Michigan. Wanxiang has agreed to forego the balance of those loans, and has also agreed to keep A123’s U.S. operations up and running -- something Wanxiang has done with other struggling automotive manufacturing companies it has invested in in the United States.